What’s in store for Sloatsburg Ambulance Corps

Sloatsburg residents are wondering what will become of the village’s volunteer ambulance corps now that an unhappy chapter of its history has been written.

Michael Gannon, former president of the Sloatsburg Ambulance Corps, entered a plea of guilty to second degree grand larceny, a felony, in Rockland County Court. He was charged with diverting more than $70,000 of the non-profit’s EMS provider’s funds for his personal use, paying for personal expenses and entertainment, including a whopping $9,000 for Jets’ tickets.

Gannon entered a guilty plea on July 12 and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 26. In exchange for his guilty plea, the judge could sentence Gannon to one of three different scenarios: If he pays full restitution before October 26, he will receive a split sentence—six months of intermittent time in Rockland County Jail, with five years of probation and community service; if he pays at least half of the money back by his sentencing date, he will be sentenced to one year of intermittent time in Rockland County Jail; if he fails to pay restitution, he will spend one-three years in state prison.

Mayor Pete Akey told The Rockland Times he was advised that the Town of Ramapo authorized $20,000 in renovations to the building and that Spring Hill Ambulance Company, which operates out of Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, will be responding to local calls for emergency assistance directly from the Sloatsburg Ambulance Corps Building in the immediate future.

Town of Ramapo workers were recently painting and refurbishing the Sloatsburg Volunteer Ambulance Corps building on Washington Street, prepping for the return of EMS services to the northwest corner of the county. (Photo: Kathy Kahn)

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